Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Commander Wu Shengli attend a deck reception hosted by Pakistan's Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Asif Sandila NI (M) on board Pakistan Navy Ship Shamsheer in Qingdao on Tuesday.

The reception was attended by top naval leaders from Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) member and observer states including Bangladesh, China, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, and the United States.

Commander Wu Shengli was the chief guest on the occasion. The reception commenced with the playing of National anthems of Pakistan and China followed by the cake-cutting ceremony. Traditional Pakistani cuisine was served to the guests.

Pakistan has been granted the observer status at this year's WPNS biennial symposium which is held in the Chinese port city of Qingdao.

Talking to the media, Admiral Asif Sandila said that the day was momentous as the WPNS member states had endorsed Pakistan Navy’s observer status on Tuesday with full consensus. He said that Pakistan navy had contributed significantly over the years to maintaining peace and security in the seas and had exhibited well-developed skills and expertise in anti-piracy, counter-terrorism, anti-drug smuggling, anti- human trafficking as well as at international maritime search and rescue missions.

He also said that there was no denying the fact that in the face of ever growing transnational asymmetric threats, especially in the maritime dimension such as piracy, maritime terrorism, drugs/arms/human smuggling etc, the interdependence among navies continued to increase and a cooperative and collaborative maritime security approach was the only way ahead. Western Pacific Naval Symposium being an important forum possessed the potential to increase cooperation amongst the member states in the maritime domain to curb the menace of maritime terrorism and resolve major issues in the maritime realm. The valuable interactions through this forum enabled exchange of information and expertise in various fields for capability enhancement of all the members. Admiral Asif Sandila thanked the Chinese hosts and other member states for their support. As an Observer in the WPNS, PN would contribute significantly towards maritime security through this forum, he added.

The WPNS was established in 1987 with the goals of promoting pragmatic cooperation between navies of its member countries, strengthening mutual understanding and trust, and safeguarding regional maritime security. It comprises navies whose countries border the Pacific Ocean region.

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